Are you ready Truebies? With less than a week away before Trueblood's Season 3 premiere, I am ecstatic! I've been on the edge for months from anxiously waiting on what's going to happen next! Just wanted to share my excitement with some photos I took of the 42nd Street subway station in New York and its surroundings because HBO did a fine job advertising the show's much anticipated premiere. I was waiting for the ads to start popping up all over town as soon as HBO released the cast photo and now it's finally all over Times Square! Gosh, I LOVE NEW YORK!

A TV show about vampires brought Jace Everett's song back from the dead. Bad Things wasn't even a single back in 2006 when Everett released his self-titled debut. Instead, the major label he'd signed with was pushing That's the Kind of Love I'm In, a more radio-friendly song for contemporary country radio stations. That song made a little headway, but Everett's run in the big leagues was short-lived. Then TV producer Alan Ball found Bad Things on iTunes.

Now the song is a part of one of the most stylish intros for any active TV show, that of HBO's True Blood. Everett's growling voice slips through his brazenly carnal song like a predator. It's paired with video clips — mostly of a sexual, religious and/or deathly nature — a consummate marriage of sound and visual.

“It's embarrassingly simple,” Everett says of his (and his song's) sudden fame. “Alan Ball is an iTunes junkie. He discovered the song, and I won the lottery.”

Werewolves are coming to Bon Temps in the new season of "True Blood," and while these supernatural creatures don't actually exist in real life — we certainly hope not, anyway — the wolves you're going to see on screen are very, very real. Actor Joe Manganiello, who plays werewolf Alcide Herveaux in the third season, only plays his human side, with an actual on-set wolf representing his feral mode.

Unless you're Kevin Costner, the idea of hanging around all day with wolves is far from relaxing. In an exclusive interview, Joe himself admitted to Hollywood Crush that working on set with the wolves wasn't easy for him — not at first, at least.

In Sunday's Season 3 premiere, audiences will be introduced to Tommy Mickens, Sam Merlotte's shape-shifting younger brother, played by Marshall Allman (Hostage, Prison Break). Of course, new characters come with new drama.

Allman took some time away from the set to talk to Parade.com about being "the new kid in school," breathing life into his wildcard character and why fans should keep a close eye on Sookie, Bill and Eric. Special thanks go to fansite True-Blood.net for providing a few excellent questions for True Blood's new kid.

Were you a fan of True Blood before coming on to the show?
"Yeah, I was. I have a friend who is on the show -- Jim Parrack (Hoyt Fortenberry) -- and I already watched a lot of the first season, and then I just kind of fell off because I'm not that good at following TV shows. But, having said that, I knew what a quality show it was and how great the writing was."

Waiting sucks. Particularly the long and arduous one following TRUE BLOOD’s second season finale which saw audience’s would-be-happily-ever-after cut surprisingly short following Bill Compton’s untimely abduction mere moments after proposing to Sookie Stackhouse!
And while many have admirably attempted to plug the gaping hole left by TRUE BLOOD’s nine month hiatus — including THE VAMPIRE DIARIES star Ian Somerhalder (close, but no cigar!) and HBO, which deserves some serious credit for taking on the gargantuan task that is quenching audience’s seemingly insatiable appetite for all things “Vampire” courtesy of a very clever “Waiting Sucks” poster campaign, minisodes, and last week’s “Ultimate Trubie” event — the fact of the matter is that Sunday June 13th can’t come soon enough.
Which is why we at theTVaddict.com decided to step up to the plate and do our part in the form of this exclusive one-on-one interview with Stephen Moyer. The talented and charming actor who was kind enough to take some time from shooting to discuss his small screen alter ego Bill Compton, the upcoming Emmy nominations, and what it’s like being part of the phenomenon that is TRUE BLOOD.

Other than kicking off an episode with someone munching on a bloody wolf ear, the third season of "True Blood" is off to a bit of a slow start, taking its time introducing new characters and plot lines during the course of its first three episodes.
By now, the vampires-coexisting-with-humans show is such a cult phenom that it can afford to be patient; the strength and familiarity of the characters overpowers the lengthy exposition. Still, the early episodes are more about busy storytelling than they are about getting down to business.
With its sprawl of characters, "True Blood" has always had a lot going on, and the writers do an admirable job of juggling old plots and new elements without letting things get too muddled. The directors maintain the lurid, steamy (in multiple senses of the word) atmosphere of Bon Temps, La., a small town where weird things happen among "mainstreaming vampires," mind-reading waitresses, shape-shifting bar owners and the occasional supernatural interloper. The series' dark humor and erotic elements are all intact.

The third season of HBO's True Blood premieres this Sunday, and while we're terribly excited, we also know the outrageous and sometimes ridiculous show has areas it can improve upon. Here are five things we're hoping to see this summer.

Rutina Wesley as Tara Thornton in HBO vampire series True Blood

1. Tara Acting Smart: Tara seemed so promising: a devoted best friend of the protagonist whose tumultuous upbringing made her cynical, defensive, and more often than not completely unfamiliar with the concept of self-control. She should be awesome, and in the first few episodes of True Blood, she was, with some cutting lines and an obvious concern for Sookie's well being. But a character can only be the fuck-up so many times — without learning anything — before she starts to seem less "troubled" and more "deeply idiotic." Also (and we could be wrong about this, because we spend most of our time watching TV), aren't best friends supposed to, you know, talk to each other or whatever? We think the last time Tara and Sookie had a conversation on the show it was actually just screaming and someone probably got punched. Tara spent the second season dealing with the fallout from the first by spiraling further and further out of control, and we're worried she'll simply do the same this time around. Let's hope Tara will become a more fully fleshed-out character who engages in actual human interactions.

Do you love True Blood ? We have the best , smartest, funniest team in all the Sookieverse ? You will find us all on Talk Blood Radio every Sunday night 9:30pm following the live broadcast of True Blood.

Brian Juergens is an entertainment writer, filmmaker and film critic, the former blog editor of AfterElton.com and creator of campblood.org, the first and most comprehensive website devoted to celebrating and studying horror movies from a gay perspective. Andy Swist is an illustrator and graphic designer he has been the guiding visual force behind campblood.org, and his work can be found at andyswist.com. but he is famously known for his genius True Blood character paper dolls.
Twitter : @AndySwist and #CampBlood

* Mark Blankenship

Mark Blankenship is the pop culture reviewer from Huffington Post and he also blogs on his wonderful site the Critical Condition thecriticalcondition.com

A few days ago, Stephenie Meyer released her new Twilight related book - Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. Next weekend, on Sunday, June 13th, we have the hotly anticipated third season of HBO's True Blood premiering, and just two weeks later, the third Twilight film release, Eclipse, happens. Yesterday, Rebecca Housel's new book on vampires and philosophy hit stores. We're in the midst of a perfect vampire-storm.
Rebecca Housel (at www.RebeccaHousel.com) thinks and writes about vampires and philosophy, day and night - but especially at night - in two recent books from Wiley-Blackwell, Twilight & Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians and the Pursuit of Immortality (2009) and True Blood & Philosophy: We Wanna Think Bad Things with You (just out). Housel's Twilight book has been published in seven languages to date, and she's voiced it for Amazon's Audible.com, responding to the current vampire-mania. This of course raises an age-old philosophical question: Why? What's responsible for the sudden huge interest in vampire entertainment? And what are the main attractions for a philosopher? I recently had a chat with Rebecca about it. read on

“True Blood” transformed a crop of relatively unknown actors into mega-watt stars during the first season. Lindsay Pulsipher is probably hoping to have the same career luck when she takes on the character of Crystal Norris, Jason Stackhouse’s latest love interest. Jason’s girlfriends have a habit of meeting gruesome ends, so there’s no telling what could happen to Crystal, especially since Lindsay has said that Crystal isn’t a were-panther (a what?!) in the series as she is in the book. In anticipation for the June 13 season three premiere of “True Blood,” here’s a closer look at the woman behind the character.

If you’re fan of Patrick Swayze, then you might recognize Lindsay from A&E’s “The Beast.”

Lindsay has appeared in other TV shows, like “CSI: NY,” “House,” Jerry Bruckheimer’s “Eleventh Hour,” and Showtime’s “Masters of Horror.”

Waiting Sucks as the True Blood marketeers will have it, but you can quench your thirst for more TB with ‘A Taste of True Blood’, a collection of essays on the show from the Smart Pop imprint of Benbella Books, released June 29th.
Taking an in depth look at the series, this book is a must for all afficionados and contains essays from fans and pro-writers alike. A detailed deconstruction of the show’s memorable opening credits will point out some things that may have been delivered directly into your brain through subliminal messaging, you will be invited to weigh the pros and cons of a Shifter boyfriend and everything from religion to class politics to race is covered in these insightful and entertaining essays. There’s even a cameo from End of Show’s content editor Kirsty Walker in her esay ‘True Stud : Jason Stackhouse in Search of Masculinity’.
You can buy ‘A Taste of True Blood’ at Benbella’s website and we are also giving away two copies to readers : simply answer this question (US and Canada only) : What is Eric’s last name?
Answers to contest@endofshow.com , we’ll announce a winner on June 20th.

True Blood's International Cast
Q Are any of the actors on True Blood actually from the South?

Take our True Blood quiz!

A Although set in a Louisiana bayou town, True Blood's principle players are mostly comprised of foreigners. Among those doing their best Southern accent: New Zealander Anna Paquin (Sookie), England's Stephen Moyer (Bill), Australian Ryan Kwanten (Jason) and Sweden's Alexander Skarsgard (Eric). Of the American actors, only Sam Trammel (Sam) is a Louisiana native, while William Sanderson (Bud) hails from Memphis and Carrie Preston (Arlene) is from Macon, Georgia.

It's hot... hot... hot in Louisiana. And if any of you are reading Charlaine Harris's novel about the supernatural folks living among us. Then you know that it's absolutely steaming here in the deep south. But our Miss Sookie Stackhouse knows how to cool off after some wild shenanigans with, Vampire Bill, Were-tiger Quinn, and Vampire Erik.

Personally, I don't know where she finds the time. What with the revolving door in her bedroom and her full time job at Merlotte's Bar. But when the heat gets the better of her, she will head out to her kitchen and whip up this treat to help cool off on those long sultry summer nights.

Even if you don't have some sexy vampire in your life, heating up your loins. You can still enjoy this great recipe.

Wendell: What's the word on True Blood? Are Sookie and Bill really over?
They're so not in a happy place. But one of them will be in a sexy place. Here's what I can tell you about the first three episodes: Either Bill or Sookie has sex with someone, and it is hands-down the most unforgettable (you will have dreams/nightmares afterward!) sex scene in the entire run of True Blood so far. Here's what else you can expect from the first three episodes:

Someone tries to commit suicide.

Someone tries to kill a sibling.

Someone loses his head.

Someone is pregnant.

Someone has a one night stand--and it's the last person you'd expect.

Someone has an underground sex marathon--and it's the first person you'd expect.

There are more bare backsides than a gym locker room, and one belongs to one Mr. Alexander Skaarsgård. This just in from Alan Ball: You're welcome.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the English actor -- who plays Bill Compton on HBO's True Blood -- has signed on to star opposite Jessica Lange in the feature film version of the 1965-69 western TV series The Big Valley.

Lange will star as ranching family matriarch Victoria Barkley, a role played on the small screen by Barbara Stanwyck.

As the trade tells us, "Moyer will play Jarrod Barkley, the family's respected attorney who represents ranchers fighting to keep their land from being taken by railroad companies. Richard Long played him on the TV series."

Filming begins next month in Louisiana. Daniel Adams penned the script and will direct. The film's official site can be found here.

Sriram Das and Blumhouse Productions have brought on horror king John Carpenter to direct a film adaptation of John Marks' 2008 novel Fangland.

The project has been in development for two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank to star as Evangeline Harker, a producer of a TV news magazine eerily similar to "60 Minutes."

In the book, Harker is an employee of the legendary TV news magazine "The Hour." Sent on assignment to Transylvania, she delivers more than a story when mysterious e-mails, coffins, and a creepy guy named Torgu descend on the New York office.